A plus to subtract a day

Two New Jersey towns have put their employees on a four-day workweek to save money and energy. Other towns are pondering the idea. It should be under consideration in all municipalities, county governments and state agencies as well.
On July 1, Gloucester Township in Camden County and Bloomingdale in Passaic County moved to the four-day workweek. Irvington, Long Hill and Fanwood are considering it.
The idea is catching on nationally, too. Last week, Utah's Republican governor, Jon Huntsman, issued an order creating a four-day week for 17,000 of the state's 24,000 employees. A similar proposal is being weighed for state workers in West Virginia.

Not only is a four-day workweek employee-friendly, but it offers financial benefits that taxpayers should appreciate.
If adopted broadly by both public and private employers, a shorter workweek could reduce soaring energy costs and decrease traffic congestion, pollution and some of the cost of highway maintenance.
Still, the perils cannot be ignored.
Most important, agencies that deal with the public must be open at hours convenient to the public. In some ways, the public might benefit. If a town goes to a four-day, 10-hour workweek, some offices might be open later, a boon to commuters who leave home early and return after 4 p.m., when many municipal offices close.
Another legitimate concern is productivity. The work that used to be done over five days must be completed in four. A shift to a four-day workweek would be problematic if it became an excuse to abuse overtime. None of that should happen.
Nor should there be a concern that problems that arise on the fifth day can't be addressed. With cell phones, laptops, BlackBerries and all the other technological advances, reaching employees in the event of an emergency should not be a problem. We suspect many, particularly parents, would be willing to handle calls at home or even take work home if that was the price for a four-day workweek.
There is nothing magical about the five-day workweek, which has been around since 1938 with passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act, a law enacted to protect workers when many labored six days a week.
During the 1970s, when the nation was confronted with a gas crisis similar to the one today, some employers tried a shorter week, but the idea never gained much traction.
Now may be the time.